Background: Although the connection between body and soul is written in the Bible, research papers haven't given much attention to it until the past few decades. Recently, both here and abroad, there have been more studies that investigate the prevalence of various somatic disorders in psychiatric patients, including metabolic syndrome.
Objective: The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and it's components in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Subjects and methods: Metabolic syndrome and its components were investigated in 60 patients with chronic PTSD conditioned by the war and in 60 patients treated for somatic problems by their family physician in Mostar.
Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was statistically significantly higher in patients with PTSD (48.3%) than in the control group (25%) (P=0.008) and the number of its individual components (test group 2.38±1.30 compared to control group 1.72±1.24) (P=0.005). PTSD patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome had significantly more frequent hyperglycemia (P=0.010) and abdominal obesity (P=0.044) compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased in patients with PTSD compared to the control group.